Venezuelan President is a Bitcoin Lover After All

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro openly declared how he plans to circumvent the economic sanctions imposed on them by the US government.

Cryptocurrencies, stated Maduro, would back Venezuela’s modern financial system. They would reduce the country’s dependencies on US-backed banking institutions – and, in the process, would integrate a blockchain protocol to do the same job of settlement and transactions.

Speaking at a televised conference on Tuesday, Maduro said:

“The finance minister and Venezuela’s central bank have new instruments which we will activate very soon so that everyone can do banking transactions, as well as national and international payments via the central bank’s accounts. Venezuela is working within the cryptocurrency world.”

The Central Bank of Venezuela is ready to use instruments for the circulation of cryptocurrencies. The country’s central bank has begun conducting an internal test to find out possible options for keeping bitcoin and ethereum in reserves. The efforts follow the request of state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA oil company, which wants to use the cryptocurrencies for payment settlements abroad and at home.

“Donald Trump and his sanctions are blocking Venezuela from carrying out transactions in any of the world’s banks. There are other formulas to pay, and it’s what we’re using because our payment system works perfectly in China and Russia.”

Maduro added.

Opposition Cries ‘Desperation’

Venezuelan politician Juan Gerardo Guaidó Márquez, who is recognized by more than 50 countries as the sympathetic and rightful leader, said in an earlier press conference:

“The regime’s use of cryptocurrency shows desperation. To resort to that kind of deception emphasizes the economic crisis the regime is going through.”

Juan Gerardo Guaidó Márquez is a member of the social-democratic Popular Will party, federal deputy to the National Assembly representing the state of Vargas, and currently serves as the President of the National Assembly of Venezuela.